Scaffold workers rescued near top of skyscraper in Manhattan

NEW YORK – Two maintenance workers left dangling from a broken scaffold near the top of a New York City skyscraper have been rescued.

The men were stuck Wednesday afternoon at the 600-foot Hearst building in midtown Manhattan.

Fire department officials say workers cut open windows on the 44th floor and pulled the men inside to safety. The workers and a firefighter moved slowly from the scaffold to the opening.

The fire department says it appears one of the scaffold's three motors failed. The men were on either side of the scaffold, communicating with firefighters on the roof of the 46-story building for about an hour and a half before they were rescued.

The Hearst Tower is the headquarters of the Hearst Corp. and the first green high-rise office building in the city.